Just days after Microsoft cranked out a touch-optimized Bing search page for touch screen phones comes another announcement for mobile searchers. Microsoft on Monday reported that Verizon will roll out the first Bing mobile app to BlackBerry Storm 1 users. The Bing mobile app already comes preloaded on the BlackBerry Storm 2.

After Verizon pushes Bing for mobile, Storm owners should be able to click the icon in the program list to get started.

In addition to search are features carried over from a former incarnation of Microsoft's search app, Windows Live for mobile, such as voice search, and a map that includes driving directions, traffic details, and a location feature to search your whereabouts. There's also a way to save favorite searches, and to quickly get at local searches.

We first encountered a variation of the Bing app on Windows Mobile 6.5 phones. While many features are nearly identical to the Windows Live mobile app, the refreshed search engine should produce more accurate results.

About the author

Jessica Dolcourt reviews smartphones and cell phones, covers handset news, and pens the monthly column Smartphones Unlocked. A senior editor, she started at CNET in 2006 and spent four years reviewing mobile and desktop software before taking on devices.
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